My son is almost 16 years old and so sick he hardly gets out of bed anymore. Although no Dr.s believes me I do believe he has Cushings and the Dr.s can not give me any other idea’s of what is wrong with him only that he needs to lose weight and exercise more. My son is so tired of hearing this that at his last appointment with a specialist at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia he left in tears and wants to know why no one is helping him. He is to the point where he doesn’t even want to go to the Dr.s anymore, he thinks it’s pointless. He has only had one 24hr Urine test which came back normal and an cortisol & ACTH test taken at 5pm and these were also within range. I am going to guess maybe things started at the age of 9 or 10 and progressively gotten worse.
His symptoms are as follows and the explained away answers from the Dr.s –
1. Headaches all day everyday – sometimes severe, sometimes just there and no amount of advil seems to take it away completely – Dr.s probably puberty and since he is a big kid take up to 4-advil every 4 hours.
2. Buffalo Hump – we brought him to the Dr. about 2-3yrs ago for this odd hump on the back of his neck – Dr.s it’s just a fat deposit – he just deposits fat in odd places
3. Red to purple stretch marks that fade and get brighter but never go away completely – they appear in masses on his sides, back, shoulders and stomach – Dr.s response although his stretch marks are quite impressive they are typical of what you would see in cushings they are not purple enough or wide enough.
4. Severe pain in back and knee (sometimes elbows) – he can’t even take a simple trip to the stores as it is to much for him to walk around – his is 15yrs old and is now asking me to get him a cane to help him get around. Dr.s response to the pain – must be growing pains (my son is 6’1″ and I was just told he is pretty much done growing)
5. He does not sleep at night, says can’t fall to sleep no matter how hard he tries and when he finally does fall asleep in the morning early hours he will sleep most of the day, then wake up still feeling tired. He told me it’s like his mind sleeps but his body doesn’t feel rested at all. Dr.s said he needs to stop video games and t.v. to hours before bed – these types of things stimulate the mind thats why he can’t sleep.
When the Dr.s were told the rest, they really didn’t say anything at all – below are the rest of his symptoms:
6. He is starving at night – he says he has to eat he is so hungry
7. Having a hard time remembering things and getting progressively worse
8. Losing his grip – he can barely right his name – when I ask him to squeeze my hand it hardly even hurts me now and he says when he tries to squeeze hard he gets this odd sensation up his arm and it feels really off .
9. Has a hard time sitting for an extended amount of time – this has caused him to miss the last 6 weeks of school – his says the pain in his back and sides are just to much to handle when trying to sit.
10. He has had numerous skin aliments, mouth sores
11. Always thirsty
12. Acanthosis Nigricans – back of neck, under arms, elbows
13. never a sick child until recently – strep throat, mono (which I was first told he didn’t have), normal colds now last for weeks with him where he never even got colds before.
14. slow healing of cuts and he scars horribly
I am sure there are other things but these are the first to come to the top of my head. His biggest complaint is the memory loss, lack of sleep and pain. I am scared for my son and do not understand how this is acceptable for anyone let alone a 15yr old. I am watching him get worse and watching his precious teenage years just pass right by him.
Hi, I have been diagnosed with probable cyclical adrenal cushings. This all started after a scan on my abdomen for something unrelated revealed bilateral adrenal adenomas. When I googled adrenal adenoma everything fitted into place. I had been depressed , put weight on which were my main symptoms along with anxiety.
I was then referred to an endocrinologist in the UK who ordered some initial tests. I did Two 24hr UFC’s on consecutive days one came back at 36 and the one the day after was 91(normal below 50. Another time the normal range was 165 and the 1st one was 108 and the one the day after was 393.
I then did an overnight dexamethasone test and suppressed below 50 to 48. My endocrinologist then said he didn’t think I had cushings and said come back in six months and said it might be due to stress. I then got a second opinion and then the real testing started.
Roll forward four years and I have done about 30 – 24hr UFC’s numerous ACTH and full blood counts. renin and aldersterone, metoclopramide test, glucagon test, vassopression test, oral glucose stimultation test, day curve cortisol, spent a day in hospital walking round the ward for two hours, then eating a mixed meal and then sitting down for two hours while they tested my cortisol every hour . Did a Low Dose Dexamethasone Test and came out in a rash and my blood pressure dropped so got told I can’t do the test again. Had a bone density scan. I hIad a pituitary scan that revealed a lump inside my tongue and then had to have a whole body scan followed by a tongue biopsy(which turned out to be benign.
I have had about five CT scans on my adrenal glands and was referred to an endocrine surgeon this week who is going to perform a right adrenalectomy. The right one is 4cm in diameter.
He said looking at the scan he thinks it looks like macro nodular adrenal hyperplasia but wont know till pathology get to examine the specimen.
It’s been a long, long journey but finally looks like it’s coming to a conclusion now.
this story is of my father. He was a or nurse on the transprt ship the usst sea barb during ww2, he graduated high school at age 16 and he then went to simpson college and had completed over two yrs when the war broke out. he signed up seeing how he was studing to be a doctor they signed him up in the corps.. after the war ended he went back to school. and then a year later signd up for the reserves. he continued to go to school ,work part time and work in the reerves. he and mom had two children by 1953 and he continued to do thest things. during this time some kids drove past him very fast and crashed their car. my dad getting off of the reserves and still being in uniform stopped a couple of the kids where dead but he did save the others by stabiliting them tell help arrived. and one young adult had major trama dad took his uniform jacket off and wrapped him up saving hs life tell help could get there. dad came home and mom seeing him covered in blood screamed until my dad calmed her and told her it was not his.
the year was 1957 my dad was starting to show signs of the disease he had lost an 1inch and half and at home he used to be a loving and decated husband and father but he was having more problems controling his emotions…he was in pain allot. the reserves still took my dad. and my dad had gooten a B/S degree in biology and education and he had then transfered to a methodist seminary to become a minister in 1950. by 1957 he had a nother degree and had completed chaplain school with thearmy reserves.
in 1961 i was born and the following spring he had a tabogoning accident which he could not move from and he wsa sent to fargo north dakota where it was discovered he had cushings as they called it from there he was sent to minnaplais/ minn where he stayed for 265 days. he had four major surgeries and 11 minor ones. trying to correct the symptoms of the disease. he had his gallbladder removed mar 1963, due to gallstones, he had his adrenal glands jan/1963 removed due to the high levles of hormons.abscess from ruptured divrticulum .tepary colestemy repai at age 39 “1963”his doctor was dr. Pelzi he suffered from osteoperosis with fractures of th spine/back. clavicle and several ribs more then once.
after a serious illness in apr 1962 he was sent to fargo with compressed fractures of the spine, ankle edema, weight gain and th fractures.at the minneapolis hosp he showed he was in the late stages of the disease he had osteoperosis, with mutliple compressions fractures on inttering the hosptial in dec 1962 they found he had diverticulitis of the sigmoid colon,5/9/63 with abscess they where drained at surgery 1/11/63 in mar at the same time they took his adrenal glands they took his gallbladder due to chronic chelecyelithiasishe was put on replacement hormone thearpy.he had high bllod pressure due to cushings. he then had to have more surgery to correct colon 5/14/1943 problem with aneatomeisi a tempary cocestomy was done and ended on 7/3/63 when the colestomy was closed and his large bowel was then re-anastemesed. on 7/5/1943 his family was called and told he was dying and there was nothing they could ddo to help him. mom rounded up us for kids and took us up to the hospital dads parents had gotten there thirty minutes before and they pronounced my dad dead when they arrived. when we got there mom called my dads name and he sat up in the bed and talked to her. he got out of the hospital in sept of 1963. the military retired him and the methodist church also did. he was walking with the add of churths and a cain. he also could not longer control his emotions.
when he had entered the hospital they had given him a year to live. or they gave him the option for them to experiment on him. due to his young age and him being a man they felt like the research could help allot of people. the studdied him to find where the disease can from and what it did to all the systems of his body. they gave him a pention and all the hospitals etc was free due to him being in the military but on inactive statis. my dad choice to help people. he was 39 years old and i was two years old.
when dad got out of the hospital he would be calm and kind and the next mintue a raging out of control person. even though he was very weak and never could walk well picking up his feet as he walked but when he got angry he had the strength of ten men. at the hospital they had told my mom about dads changed behavior and wanted to instational lize him from then on. but my mom refused feeling he needed to be at home with his family.
dad lived and went from job to job every few months to maybe lasting a a year here or there.due to his uncontrolable temper. we moved to wyo. and he continued to go to the va hospital in cheyenne wyo trying to get stabilized.we moved from town to town and in 1964 my brother was born. dad was very unstable and wwas in constant pain. in 1967 he almost beat my mom and little brother to death. the law came and took him to the edge of twon and told him not to come back. a year latr a few dyas before his and moms divorce would have been final he called mom and begged her to let him come home she refused and he said I will kill myself mom had heard that one many times before and she said go ahead. he did on thier 25 wedding aniversary. the next day.
I tell you this story to let you know of my dad who was a good healthy man, who was a good father and dad he had two B/S degrees and was in the ww2 and in the military almost 20 years. he became a minister and was a good one i heard. and then he got sick but instead of living without surgeryies etc he choose to help and let the doctors experiment on him so it would help other people. his body shows his scars and i have some pictuers of him. the atopsy is a mistory abut the man who claimed to have done it said even though daddy ws 46 years old he had the body of a 98 year old man. he was lost four inchs in hiegth and wher in the last stages of canser…the md also said he did not know how daddy had lived that long with all his health concorns… i have many documents that back up what i have said… i have discovered them doing genealogy research…just me ginger hawn cooper
my dads name was Charles Hamilton Hawn the fourth..my oldest brother says daddy is in th medical books som wof the first in treating this illness…from 1962-1967
My name is Patrick and I live in Montreal, Quebec, and I’m 35 years old. I’m not very good in english so my bio will be as short as possible. Sorry about that, and let’s hope that you will be able to read my bio without any problems.
I have found this web site (cushings-help.com) because I was doing some research a few weeks ago on the internet about hypogonadism. Back in April, my new GP (one of the many I’ve been seeing for the last 10 years) wanted to test my testosterone levels and finally find out that I was indeed suffering of hypogonadism. Based on those results, he did recommended to me a Testosterone Replacement Therapy for a few months which I did start immediately.
Three months after the beginning of the TRT, I’ve been tested again to see if any improvements were noticed but, surprisingly my testosterone levels were lower then before I’ve first started the TRT (twice as low to be precise).
So, he then ordered a CT Scan of my pituitary gland to make sure everything was okay with my pituitary gland. I received the results of the scan two weeks ago and, according to him, everything is “normal”. He suggested that I should try some testosterone injections insted of both gels I’ve tryed so far. During my last visit, I talked to him about some ressemblance between the symptoms of Cushing disease and my symptoms which are :
– Rapid weight gain (70 lb in 18 months mainly at the torso)
– Severe depression for the last 7 years at least
– Broken vertebrae in 2005 for no apparent reason
– Circadian rhythm completely out of whack (can’t sleep without my 15 mg of Zopiclon each night for the last 5 years)
– Suicidal thoughts (one attempt in 2004)
– Hypogonadism (total and biodisponible testosterone levels of 4.32 nmol/L after three months of TRT)
– LH and FSH deficiency
– Higher cortisol level at 4 pm than 8 am
– Stretch marks
– Changes of my skin (thinner and dryer, take longer to heel)
– Deacreased libido
– Lost of strength, body mass and stamina
– Joint pain (especially in the knees and hips)
– Headaches
– Congnitive difficulties
– etc. etc. etc.
He did try to reassure me that it wasn’t Cushing, but because I know that Cushing is often misdiagnosed, I ask him to see an endocrinologist anyway. Thankfully, I have an appointment next December 3rd.
I will try to update my profile as soon as I will have any further developments. If you have any questions or advices, please feel free to let me know.
RYAN TYLER MONDS (FONZ) December 29, 1981 – September 4, 2016 Ryan passed away peacefully and is free from illness and pain. Heartbroken by his passing are his mother Anne (Dave); father Ron (Charlene); brother Cody; stepsisters, Emily and Grace (Kyle); and nephew Nathan.
Also mourning his loss are aunts, uncles, cousins, many life-long friends and friends through Cushing’s Disease Awareness.
Respecting Ryan’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. A private family interment will take place at Sunnyside Cemetery.
Donations to Siloam Mission in Ryan’s memory would be greatly appreciated.
Goodbye came too soon. We love you. Miss Me But Let Me Go When I come to the end of the road And the sun has set for me, I want no rites in a gloom-filled room, Why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little, but not too long, And not with your head bowed low, Remember the love that we once shared, Miss me, but let me go. For this is a journey we all must take, And each must go alone, It’s part of the Master’s plan, A step on the road to home. So when you are lonely and sick at heart, Go to the friends we know, And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds, Miss me – but let me go.
As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 10, 2016
Hi All,
I was diagnosed 4 years ago. I had extreme weight gain despite a very physically active life style. I would require less than 2 hours a night of sleep. Eat less than 1,000 calories per day and exercise 3-5 hours a day. I had the emotional swings as well. I would bruise or cut very easily. Doctor suspected Cushings after I displaced my knee cap for the second time due to Patella Tendonitis.
Months of testing resulted in what the doctors considered a low likelihood for positive outcome, the surgeon (supposed to be one of the best) agreed to remove the tumor either way. It was filling the Sella to the point it was pushing on my pituitary. It was wrapped around my optical nerve and would probably cause problems with my eyesight.
I was told that I would be back to work in 3 weeks.
Post Surgery my Cortisol levels never rebounded. The doc gave me 10mg of cortisol with no affect. Then they gave me 40mg and I could get up to go to the bathroom. Within an hour levels were back down to 3 (whatever).
They put me on 80/40mg of Cortisol for morning and noon each day. I still was basically unable to move. After 1 year. I was off cortisol and passed the suppression test. And still wasn’t losing weight, felt sick all the time.
It appears my anterior pituitary gland has not recovered. I don’t make enough TSH or the hormone to induce Testosterone. I took the Gel for testosterone with poor results. My thyroid tests are considered inconclusive. I try to feel out my thyroid dosage. Now I get testosterone implants. They seem better.
Basically put, four years later I feel almost as bad most days as before the surgery. Weight gain is still an issue. The major differences are, I sleep really well. I don’t bleed at the touch. My feet are very week, I could sleep 15 hours a day.
Today’s article: Father-of-two, 42, who was scared of heights now skydives from 17,000ft with NO FEAR after surgeons removed his ADRENELIN gland
Mr Cernik suffers from ultra-rare Cushing’s syndrome which causes high levels of the hormone Cortisol – a steroid that regulates the metabolism and immune system.
In just three years, former Territorial Army recruit Mr Cernik, who is 5ft 8in tall, ballooned from 11st 5lb to almost 17st.
To treat the condition, Mr Cernik underwent a series of brain operations and two procedures to remove his adrenal glands, which also produce adrenalin….
Hi my name is Harley I’m a 56 year old male. In 1985 I broke my back which reqiured several surgeries over a period of 10 years, which caused a severe amount of pain. Then about 10 years ago I was diagnosed with addisons disease. I did’nt have all the symptoms of the disease but I’ve been diagnosed by my family physician plus other physians have confirmed the diagnosis also. As we all know this disease is very hard to detect. I’ve been on prednison and high doses of hydrocordison over the past 5 years. I’ve been hospitalised numerous times with adrenal crisis.
I was also diagnosed with a pituitary malinoma and have been treated that over the past 10 years. I have MRI’s every so often to see if it has enlarged.
I started seeing a massage therapist for the past 4 years.Starting with my back which has really been helping. She also treats me with oils which I was very hesitant at first but have grown to believe in them in many ways. My doctor has also discovered that my testoterone levels were extremely low so he has been giving me shots for that every 2 weeks I have recently been diagnosed with Cushings do to the high doses of steroids I’ve had during this time. In the past I’ve seen three endroconligists to avail.
Needless to say my wife and I have been very discouraged after all they are supposed to specialists. My last hospitalition my family doctor talked us into seeing another endo as my doctor said he was afraid of the shape I was in he was afraid of me not making it. I thank God for the faith that my wife and I have or I’m afraid this would have been more than we could handle but He has given us the strength to keep moving on.
God directed my wife to a gal that is a Certified Holistic Practioner that also has Cushings and Addisons herself. She has been living with this for the past 7 year. This is what prompted her to start her practice of healing. She started treatin herself first using oils and changing her diet and it worked for her she is stable now and doing much better. This is a real blessing because she has studied this disease indepth plus can relate to what I’m going through. It’s been great because before this I had know other contacts as we all know these are very hard diseases to detect. The new endo has set up a series of tests for me which I started a week ago and have another series this next Monday, after he gets the results of these he will decide where to go from there.
I’m so glad that God has finally set up a support group for me but they are also very strong in faith which continues to feed my wife and I.
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